Every fashion brand needs a good marketing strategy in place to help it stay ahead of its competition. A good strategy will not only help them stay afloat in the treacherous sea that is eCommerce, but also grow as others flounder in confusion. As for you, it doesn’t matter if you’re brand new to the fashion world or a seasoned veteran — no matter where you lie, you need an effective marketing strategy. Here are 10 tips to start you out.

1: Get a Website

Women’s Wear Daily reported that more than 1,875 fashion stores closed last year, yet according to Statista, revenue in the fashion segment is expected to increase from £360.7B in 2018 to £534.5B in 2022. This seems contradictory — how is revenue increasing if so many stores are closing? The internet. Shopping habits have changed and consumers are increasingly preferring to shop online rather than visiting a physical location. For you, this means getting a website if you don’t already have one; this means going from a fashion brand to a fashion eCommerce brand.

2: Have a Mobile Presence

Now that you (hopefully) have a website, we move to digital marketing for the fashion industry. Similar to our propensity for online shopping, we’re substituting keyboards for screens and are opting to browse the web with our smartphones rather than desktops. As a fashion brand, this means getting a responsive website that resizes content according to the screen it resides in. Not doing so will lead to subpar experience for your mobile users, which will deter them from further interactions with your brand. This is especially important in the fashion industry because many consumers see things they like as they go about on their day, and if they happen to see something you offer but can’t load it on your site, you can be they’ll go to a competitor.

3: Join the Social World

Social media marketing for fashion brands is an absolute must. Not only can you use it to connect with your audience and build a relationship with them, but you can also use certain platforms like Instagram to show off and promote your products. Additionally, you can integrate your store with certain channels like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, meaning that if your audience sees something they like as they browse through your catalogue, they can buy it right then and there.

4: Attach an Influencer to Your Brand

Speaking of social media, some of the best fashion social media campaigns revolve around influencers. For those who don’t know, influencers are people within your industry/niche who have large fan followings and command attention — when an influencer posts, others follow. For example, one of the best ways to promote your clothing line is to get an influencer to Tweet pictures of them wearing some of your clothes. At the end of the day, influencer marketing is like high school; influencers are the popular kids and their followers are the other kids who emulate them and want to be just like them.

Image Source: The-over-exposed.com

5: Leverage the Latest Technologies

We’re currently in the midst of a technological revolution marked by rapid advancements in technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). For example, chatbots. Chatbots act like 24/7 customer service reps that guide your customers through their journey to checkout as soon as they land on your site. If your users have a question, they’re there to answer it. And if they don’t have the capability to answer that question, a human rep can take over.

6: Personalise Everything

Shopify reports that 43% of purchases are influenced by personalised recommendations or promotions, and that 75% of consumers want brands to personalise messages, offers and experiences. What’s important to note here apart from the fact that personalisation will help you sell more is that consumers don’t just want personalised messages with their name; they want their whole experience with you to be personal. They want you to know them and their preferences, and if you’re going to promote something, you better make sure it’s something they’re interested in. When it comes down to it, personalisation is what creates successful fashion marketing campaigns.

7: Remarket to Your Users

The beauty of remarketing is that you’re targeting people who have already visited your website in the past, so right off the bat you know that there’s something there for you to work with. Additionally, you’re increasing the chances of a conversion over a normal ad because you’re showing them something they were already looking at on your website, not a random item they may or may not be interested in. Remarketing, then, gives you more brand exposure, better audience targeting, higher conversion rates and improved ROI.

8: Focus on Your Visuals

Visuals are important for all brands, but more so for fashion brands that depend on aesthetics to attract and keep customers. If you upload something that’s meant to be seen, whether it’s an image or a video, make sure it’s high quality and looks good. These may seem like no-brainers, but you’d be surprised at the amount of brands with pixelated or blurry images that paint their products in an unflattering light. Don’t be like them — always capture as many angles as possible and let your products speak for themselves.

9: Start a Blog

Ask any digital agency to name you a few fashion brand must-dos and they will undoubtedly tell you to start a blog. As a hallmark of content marketing that does everything from improving your organic search rankings to exposing new users to your brand, blogging is one of the most important marketing tools you have at your disposal. For starters, every blog post creates a new landing page for your audience to find you with. Moreover, you can use a blog to disseminate any news or updates you may have, introduce new styles with a couple of HD images to show them off, or help your audience with some style guides as the seasons change.

10: Have a Contest or Giveaway

Finally, the last fashion brand marketing strategy we’ll cover today is to start a contest or giveaway. Whether it’s to promote a new product, celebrate a holiday, or simply just because, contests and giveaways are excellent ways of acquiring new customers and engaging with existing ones. The best past? They’re perfect for fostering brand awareness and growing both your audience and business. Apart from the buzz you’ll generate around your brand and products, you can have participants enter the promotion by signing up for an email newsletter, liking or sharing a social page, and so on, which can give you valuable consumer data you can use to tailor your marketing strategy down the line.

Tip Rewind

There you have it, 10 of the most effective marketing strategies for fashion brands. Follow one or all (preferably all), they will definitely help you out as you either start out or grow in the fashion world. Here they are all over again:

1. Get a Website
2. Have a Mobile Presence
3. Join the Social World
4. Attach an Influencer to Your Brand
5. Leverage the Latest Technologies
6. Personalise Everything
7. Remarket to Your Users
8. Focus on Your Visuals
9. Start a Blog
10. Have a Contest or Giveaway